Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the miners after a power station at Amplats' Rustenburg mine near Johannesburg was set on fire.

The miners are among 12,000 workers Amplats fired after they staged a wildcat strike at the Rustenburg mine.

The company said it would reinstate the miners if they returned to work by Tuesday and offered a one-time payment of about $230. The miners are demanding $1,800 in monthly pay.

The miners want a major pay raise like the one Lonmin gave its platinum miners after they went on strike in August.

Illegal strikes by South African mine workers have intensified since police opened fire on striking employees at the Lonmin platinum mine and killed 34 people. Police said they were firing in self-defense.